Oh boy, I do love reviewing small press, DIY games- particularly when they're good ones. Caledea is one of the good ones, a fun and tightly designed conflict game that's bloody and gets right to the point without a bunch of bullshit to get in the way of dice-rolling slaughter- and salting your enemies' fields. Also, Gameshark names its GOTY award-winners
Caledea used to come in a pizza box, and the version I first played over at Swamp Castle was that one. Now, they've got a slightly nicer edition that looks and feels at least a little more like a professional game, although it's still pretty chintzy. But it's also $25, and it's more or less a DIY effort from two guys that just wanted to do a cool battle game. I support this, and I reviewed it here.
Also at Gameshark, our Game of the Year prizes are up. Bioshock 2 got GOTY, which I completely stand behind although I oddly enough didn't list it in my top five (Metro 2033, Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2, Vanquish, and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood). It's a great pick though, and definitely one of the top games of the year. There are also some fun additional awards, many of which I came up with. I'm particularly proud of the Goebbels Cup Award given to Mordin Solus (ME2) for best defense of genocide.